The Reeths-Puffer volleyball squad may have been the happiest third place team in the world on Saturday.
That’s because the Rockets had an all-around good day at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament, played at their own Dan Beckeman Arena, and capped it off with their most impressive win of the season.
The Rockets downed O-K Silver conference powerhouse Fruitport 25-10, 14-25, 15-13 in the third place match, and finished the day with a 2-1 record.
R-P's Addison Whitaker returns a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Fruitport is a two-time defending O-K Silver champion, leads that conference again this year, and is a two-time defending Division 2 district champion that reached the MHSAA regional finals last year with pretty much the same roster.
But the Rockets - with only one senior and a five sophomores and freshmen on their roster – were not scared.
After splitting the first two sets, it came down to a tie-breaking third set, which did not start out well for R-P.
The Rockets fell behind 5-1 and 7-2, but kept their poise and battled back for an exciting 15-13 victory that sealed the match.
R-P's Leah Zuniga sets up a shot for a teammate. Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P head coach Syann Fairfield said the comeback against the Trojans was a huge growth moment for her young team.
“In the first set we were focused on coming out with energy and keeping the ball in play, and we forced them into making some mistakes.” Fairfield said. “That was reversed in the second set, then in the third we came out with a little more energy, the girls played aggressive and we got some good swings.
“Having that kind of comeback win against a great team is huge for the girls. It shows them what they are capable of.”
R-P's Peyton Radel blasts a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets opened the tournament with a 25-19, 26-24 victory over North Muskegon and advanced to the semifinals.
They gave Western Michigan Christian, the top seed in the tournament and eventual champion, a fight in the semis before falling 20-25, 21-25.
That led the third place match and the big win over Fruitport, which came into the tournament seeded second.
Whitaker keeps the ball in play. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“It’s never fun having to take third – you always want to go for the big thing – but we could have chosen to roll over and we didn’t.” Fairfield said. “That says something about how we showed up after a long day and pulled out the win.”
Lexie Danz led the Rockets on the day with 25 kills while Peyton Radel had 21. Danz also served five aces while Kate Tindall piled up 61 assists.
Defensively, Leah Zuniga had 42 digs, Tindall added 22, Danz had 20 and Radel registered three blocks.
The Rockets, now 19-14-3, will host Mona Shores on Tuesday and Jenison on Thursday in a pair of O-K Green conference matches.
